'Winter is hitting Europe in full force, and the Associated Press is reporting that hundreds of flights were canceled in Britain, France and Germany on Monday as snow and ice covered the western part of the continent.
London's Heathrow airport (Europe's busiest) canceled about 130 flights, 10 percent of the daily total, compared to 20 percent on Sunday. Flights have been disrupted since Friday at Heathrow, which has seen long lines and stranded passengers camping out on the floors of its terminals. Airport
Heathrow says it has spent millions improving its winter resilience since the airport was virtually shut down by snow for several days in December 2010. But low visibility means it must leave bigger gaps between planes, triggering delays and cancelations.
Forty percent of flights were canceled at Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports in Paris. and 180 flights from Frankfurt Airport (Germany's largest) had been canceled because of icy conditions caused by freezing rain overnight. Another 200 were canceled in Munich, and long delays were expected at both airports.
And, according to the BBC, the situation seems poised to get worse: Further snow is expected in southern England and parts of Scotland and Wales into the evening and overnight.
A Heathrow spokesman said: "Because Heathrow runs at almost 100% capacity there is no slack in the system and flights unfortunately have to be canceled. Further cancellations are inevitable given the adverse weather conditions at other airports around Europe."
There were also delays at airports including Gatwick, Birmingham, Stansted and Luton.
As for train travel, Eurostar warned passengers to expect delays of up to an hour because of speed restrictions imposed as a result of snow and ice while some services to Paris and Brussels on Tuesday have been canceled. Other rail operators including Gatwick Express, Southern and Southeastern also reported cancellations and revised timetables. National Rail said all UK train companies were expected to run a full service on Wednesday.